Donald Ray Wynn went to be with the Lord on September 13, 2026 at the age of 92. He was born on January 26, 1934 at Lyons, KS.
His parents moved from Lyons, Kansas to the Pittsburg, Kansas area when Dad was a young boy. His father was a farmer and lost his farm due to drought and the depression. His father worked as a welder at the coal strip pit mines and did some farming in the area. They moved to the state of Oregon where his father worked as a welder in the shipyards. When Dad was 10 years old he sold newspapers out of a makeshift cardboard box and shined shoes to help the family make money. He and his older brothers also ran a first-ever grocery cart business to deliver groceries to people in the area.
Their next move brought the family to Fort Scott, Kansas. They purchased a farm south of where Briggs Auto is located. Dad attended Fort Scott school system. His family moved again from Fort Scott to Louisburg, KS before Dad’s senior year of high school. He did not want to make the change of schools again; Dad stayed in Fort Scott and lived in the YMCA building and asked the attendant to wake him every morning to go to school. He worked at the White Grill & Nu-Grille to put himself through school. He graduated from Fort Scott High School in 1953. Dad was in the Navy and Naval Reserve after high school with honorable discharge in 1955.
After graduation he met Lois Luker and they were soon married at Paint Creek Church of the Brethren in Uniontown, KS on September 19, 1954. Dad and Mom spent a short time in Kansas City, KS before moving to Harrisonville, MO. He farmed with his father and 4 brothers. He would get up at 4:00 AM to milk cows with some of his brothers while the other brothers milked at night. They all had jobs in the Kansas City area. Dad would then leave at 6 AM to drive to Independence, MO to work at Katz Drug Store and return home between 5 to 6 PM. His evening task was building their new home till around 10 PM. He enjoyed oil painting for 1 to 2 hours to wind down before bed. The city job was 5 days a week but milking cows was 7 days a week with extra farm work on weekends.
In 1969 Dad purchased a farm south of Uniontown, KS, and started a dairy business with brother-in-law Eldon Luker. Dad left the dairy business in 1978 and worked for himself doing carpentry work and farmed his own land. In 1985 he went to work at Uniontown High School as a custodian until his retirement in 1999. After retirement he continued to work part time for the school until he was 75 years old. He retired from farming in 2015.
Dad was a loving father who believed in taking care of his family and providing for them as best he could. Our dad was a special kinda guy. He could do almost anything. He taught us how to farm, to build things, do electrical wiring, and repair anything to keep it going without having to take it to town to be repaired. He was able to rebuild engines, build buildings, fix equipment, etc. It didn’t matter what the task was, he would take it on and not quit until it was done. Dad taught us to never start a job unless you are willing to finish it.
Dad was very meticulous in the way he wanted things done — you couldn’t just throw something together and hope that it was good enough. No! You had a job to do and you learned to do it right. He was a hard worker who spent long hours doing back-breaking work and never quit. He taught us how to love our spouse and be a father to our kids. Dad always tried to have some kind of fun while we worked and around home; he was a little ornery in some ways and would catch you off guard with some prank of his or tried to make you laugh. Although the fun part never seemed to last long enough, it was always about getting things done.
Dad was always involved in the church. The family attended Paint Creek Church of the Brethren from 1969 to late 1980. He became involved and was a founding member of Faith Christian Center, which later became Faith Church in Fort Scott, KS. He was very instrumental in helping build the church in Fort Scott, both physically and spiritually. Dad always tried to help people that would cross his path. He tried to show them Jesus in his everyday life.
His wife passed away in 2017 and he continued to live at home by himself until his passing. Dad was a man that stood tall and had every reason to. He was the best kind of dad to have, and none better in our eyes.
He was the fifth child born of 9 children to Perry Oscar Wynn & Alma Martha Helene Siemsen. He was preceded in death by his father and mother, his wife Lois, 5 brothers — Virgil Siemsen, Norman Wynn, Kenneth Wynn, Cecile Wynn, Paul Wynn — and 2 sisters, Laverne Dillion and Darlene Bunger.
He is survived by his children Deborah Wynn of Mounds, OK; Rick Wynn (Mary) of Uniontown, KS; Tina Aigbiremonlen (Eromosele) of Mounds, OK; and Mark Wynn (Amy) of College Station, TX. Also surviving are his sister Peggy Lynn of Harrisonville, MO; brother-in-law Eldon Luker of Fort Scott, KS; and sister-in-law Phyllis and her husband David Randall of Kansas City, MO. He is also survived by 7 grandchildren — Joy, Charity, Nathan, Andrea, Johnathan, Kaitlin, and Destiny — and 14 great-grandchildren.
The family will receive friends at 10:00 AM Saturday, October 24 at Cheney Witt Chapel. Matthew Hunt will conduct funeral services at 11:00 AM. A private family burial will follow at Mason Cemetery, rural Uniontown.
Memorials are suggested to Faith Church Heart for The House and may be left in care of Cheney Witt Chapel, 201 South Main, P.O. Box 347, Fort Scott, KS 66701. Words of remembrance may be submitted to the online guest book at cheneywitt.com.